1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a received information processing apparatus for executing various kinds of processing in connection with the received information in such a way as to receive information relevant to a specified target area.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, various kinds of broadcast have been changed into a digital system from an analog system. For instance, CS (Communication Satellite) digital broadcast, BS (Broadcasting Satellite) digital broadcast, and surface wave digital broadcast are due to start or have started. In general, since broadcasting from a digital system makes it possible to utilize radio waves effectively in comparison with conventional broadcasting from an analog system, it is possible to multiplex many programs onto one broadcast signal.
In the various kinds of digital broadcast, data broadcast is scheduled in addition to broadcasting of image and audio. In this data broadcast, various kinds of information such as a program guide of respective channels, news, weather forecast, life information and so forth are transmitted. Further, in the surface wave digital broadcast and so forth, data broadcast for a mobile body such as vehicle is scheduled as an exception to data broadcast for the general home and so forth, whereby data can be broadcast including particularly useful information such as traffic information, event information and so forth, about the mobile body.
A user interface is an electric program guide EPG (Electric Program Guide) that facilitates use of the service being realized by the data broadcast. In this EPG, it is possible to confirm information such as the title of respective programs, start/end time of the program, contents of the program and so forth while providing a menu on the screen, and to execute picture recording reservation. Further, it is possible to select for display various kinds of information such as the aforementioned weather forecast.
Moreover, the weather forecast, the traffic information and so forth from among the various kinds of information transmitted by the data broadcast are information for which an area relevant to the information becomes important. In some cases, target area information whose target area is specified may be added to the information. Target area information may be, for instance, a postal code or area name (regional name, prefectural and city government name, local authority name and so forth). The user is capable of acquiring information such as the weather forecast relevant to a position by specifying the postal code and/or area name, etc. corresponding to the required position by using the EPG.
When a user who is travelling in the vehicle receives the aforementioned data broadcast, the frequency of acquiring information relevant to the position (area) can be increased above all other kinds of information. For instance, it is possible to indicate that the user requires information, the weather forecast, and event information such as traffic information relevant to the user""s vehicle position, destination, and so forth. In such a case, conventionally, the user should acquire information relevant to the desired area by executing a search operation to specify the postal code and/or the area name while utilizing EPG, and further to specify the genre of information that the user desires to acquire. Thus, the operation becomes complicated.
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a received information processing apparatus in which the acquisition of information relevant to a desired area is simplified.
In order to achieve the aforementioned object, in the received information processing apparatus of the present invention, information whose target area is specified is received by a reception section from among information delivered depending on the broadcasting medium, and position information for specifying an area is extracted by a position information extraction section, wherein a received information display section selectively extracts for display the information relevant to the area from among the information received by the reception section on the basis of the position information extracted by the position information extraction section. Since the position information is extracted automatically, and the information relevant to the area that is specified by the position information is extracted selectively for display, it is possible to simplify user manipulation when acquiring information relevant to the specified area.
There is further provided a vehicle position detection section for detecting the current position of the vehicle, and it is desirable that extraction of the position information is executed by the aforementioned position information extraction section while matching the current position of the vehicle detected by the vehicle position detection section. According to this feature, in the course of travel, it is possible to selectively extract for display the information relevant to the area corresponding to the current position of the vehicle.
There is further provided a specification section for specifying a position on a map, and it is advantageous that extraction of the position information is executed by the aforementioned position information extraction section while matching a position on the map specified by the specification section. According to this feature, a desired position on the map is specified, then it is possible to selectively extract for display the information relevant to the area corresponding to this position.
There is further provided a storage section for storing information received by the reception section, and it is desirable that the information relevant to the area specified on the basis of the position information is selectively extracted for display from among the information stored in the storage section by the aforementioned received information display section. It becomes possible to extract the information relevant to the area from among the reception contents stored in the storage section in real-time because the reception contents are stored, thus it is possible to increase the amount of information as the extraction object. Further, even in cases where the reception operation by the reception section is not executed, it is possible to extract for display the information relevant to an area by using the reception contents stored in the storage section.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus which comprises a reception section for receiving information whose target area is specified from among information delivered by use of a broadcasting medium, a position information extraction section for extracting position information for specifying an area, and a received information display section for selectively extracting for display the information relevant to the specified area on the basis of the position information extracted by the position information extraction section from among the information received by the reception section.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the received information processing apparatus further comprises a vehicle position detection section for detecting the current position of the vehicle, wherein the position information extraction section extracts the position information while matching the current position of the vehicle as detected by the vehicle position detection section.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the received information processing apparatus further comprises a specification section for specifying a position on a map, wherein the position information extraction section extracts the position information while matching the position on the map specified by the specification section.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the received information processing apparatus further comprises a storage section for storing the information received by the reception section, wherein the received information display section selectively extracts for display the information relevant to the area on the basis of the position information from among the information stored in the storage section.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the position information extracted by the position information extraction section is a postal code.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the position information extracted by the position information extraction section is a telephone number.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the position information extracted by the position information extraction section is an area name.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the received information display section displays information extracted selectively and a map of a target area.
According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, information relevant to the area is at least one from among weather information, traffic information and event information.
According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the received information processing apparatus further comprises an extraction conditions storage section for storing genre of information which is extracted from among the information, wherein the received information display section extracts for display information which is associated with the area and which belongs to the genre stored in the extraction conditions storage section from among information received by the reception section.
According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a received information processing method which comprises receiving a data broadcast which delivers information relevant to an area by use of a broadcasting medium, along with position information; detecting the vehicle position; extracting position information corresponding to the vehicle position; and extracting for display information relevant to the area surrounding the vehicle position from among the data broadcast based on the position information.
According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the eleventh aspect, the received information processing method further comprises extracting for display information relevant to the area of the vehicle position and displaying simultaneously a map to which the vehicle position belongs.
According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a received information processing method which comprises receiving a data broadcast which delivers information relevant to an area by use of a broadcasting medium, along with position information; extracting position information for specifying an area to which a position specified on the map belongs; and extracting for display information relevant to the area on the basis of the position information.
According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the thirteenth aspect, the received information processing method further comprises extracting for display information relevant to said area, and displaying simultaneously a map of the area surrounding the specified position.
According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in the thirteenth aspect, the information relevant to the area is at least one from among weather information, traffic information and event information.
According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, in the thirteenth aspect, the received information processing method further comprises storing the information which is received, and selectively extracting for display the information relevant to the area from among the information stored on the basis of the position information.
According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, in the eleventh aspect, the position information comprises postal codes, and information relevant to the area matched with the postal code is extracted for display from among the data broadcast.
According to an eighteenth aspect of the present invention, in the eleventh aspect, the position information comprises telephone numbers, and information relevant to the area matched with the telephone number is extracted for display from among the data broadcast.
According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, in the eleventh aspect, the position information comprises area names, and information relevant to the area matched with the area name is extracted for display from among the data broadcast.
According to a twentieth aspect of the present invention, in the eleventh aspect, the received information processing method further comprises setting genre of information which is extracted previously from among the information, and extracting for display information which is associated with the area and which belongs to the set genre from among the information.